Massachusetts Fishing Report – June 24, 2021

September may be months away, but for some it’s already football time! From Coxes Ledge to the Harbor Humps 50-100 pound tuna are busting bait as well as the tackle of unprepared anglers. Race Point remains red hot for striped bass with one captain pulling off an 8 mile drift full of striped bass!

Massachusetts South Shore/South Coast Fishing Report

From all appearances Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters had a legitimate hardcore charter from Japan onboard. These guys wore head to toe Shimano garb and were sporting Stellas, Terez Rods, Butterfly Jigs, Orcas and all the premium gear you could imagine. All that gear was stashed by noon however as they cried uncle and couldn’t possibly catch any more striped bass! Race Point is that good at the moment with plenty of 40” plus fish in the mix with the only complaint being that for those who would like to conservatively harvest the occasional striper, the fish are too big! The fish may be gorging on sand eels but mackerel are the preferred bait. The skipper also alerted me to the Coxes Ledge football tuna bite which has been insane with multiple fish outings of 50 pound class school bluefin.

Not to be outdone, Captain Mark Petitt of Fire Escape Charters said that Cape Cod Bay has big bass down deep and on top and the bite seems to be improving every day. Pogies in the Three Bays are attracting bigger inshore stripers with snapper blues now part of the catch as well. Haddock are still viable just be prepared to travel east and begin looking in 250’ of water. The Buzzards Bay black sea bass bite remains strong, just expect to find them now in deeper water.

Captain Bruce Calvin of Strike II Charters has been finding fluke in Noman’s Ledge but the ratio of throwbacks to keepers is not favorable yet, but he’s still searching for that doormat den that he knows is out there! The same cannot be said for scup at Cleveland Ledge, where patrons are having no problem putting plenty in the cooler.

Regarding fluke, I hope to have a personal report by the next forecast since I have been invited on the maiden splash-in for the Little Sister in Westport this weekend. Captain Jason Colby’s targets are going to be the toothy version of flounder and black sea bass. Regarding the “regular” flounder, I’m disappointed to hear that the skipper considered this year poor overall. What was a three month fishery less than 10 years ago has now been reduced to one month since the stock is so depleted. If you’ve been out groundfishing at all you know why – too much commercial fishing – aka dragging! Some of that dragging has even been occurring on Deer Island Flats!

Ironically the much-hyped inaugural for the Deer Island Fishing Pier takes place on Thursday and I just happened to be invited. Rest assured, I will politely inform the powers that the intended target from that pier – flounder – is in rough shape and not likely to get any better if the dragging onslaught continues!

Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate said the the Cliffs have been hot for stripers with both mackerel and eels accounting for a lot of action. “Wolf packs” of stripers occasionally storm spots such as Minot Beach, Egypt Beach and offshore areas such as Minot Ledge and the “Weather Buoy”. The offshore trolling troops are targeting the fish with bunker spoons and of course mackerel.

Greater Boston Fishing Report

Another week, another 50 pound striper for Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing – ho-hum! You might say that the dude is dialed in! Recently he was observed pulling into Tomo’s Tackle to reload and it had less to do with the monster stripers he’s catching and more with some Charlie episodes on deep water pogy schools. For nearly an hour recently by the Humps and the BG Buoy, Brian observed 100 pound tuna crashing the pogy pods! Fortunately he did not hook up with the bass gear. Going forward there will be tuna-ready gear on board Get Tight Sportfishing! As to how the skipper is catching those cows, you can clearly read between the lines; he’s spending time offshore and where the pogy schools are!

Captain Sam from Boston Saltwater has not been so fortunate when it comes to steering clear of Charlie as he’s had repeated spoolings just off Nahant! It’s the price one has to pay to put patrons into big bass on bunker, which is common aboard his boat! Mackerel while spotty have been found off Great Brewster and have been deployed for fish up to 46” between Broad Sound and the BG Buoy.

While a fan of the almighty mackerel, Captain Paul Diggins of Reel Pursuit Charters would just as soon work Mojo Rigs or X-Raps for big bass from Egg Rock to the Harbor Humps. He told me he’s only getting a handful of shots at the cows but the results are worth it since the fish are big!

Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy told me that anglers trolling the Santini tube-and-worm by Jackknife Ledge, Veazie Rocks, Sunken Ledge and Grape/Bumpkin and Slate Islands are all doing well on striped bass. Scup and keeper black sea bass seem to be increasing in numbers off Nut Island Pier, Pemberton PIer, Hull Gut and West Gut.

Captain Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett often presents alternatives to what the fleet is doing. Tube-and-worming near river herring runs as bluebacks fallback from upstream spawning habitat is perennially productive! Pogy’s fished from a balloon are also working well from Finn Ledge though Broad Sound and into Lynn Harbor. Snapper blues have made a random appearance.

While fishing at dark among practitioners is invigorating, you never know what will go “bump” in the night. Last week while tossing SP Minnows and bucktails of a Greater Boston beach, my buddy Bobby DeVincent came tight to what appeared to be a respectable striper. The fish began running in my direction and as I scrambled to pickup line, I picked up his line instead, which is the ultimate surf casting sin! My plug was stuck to his line pretty good so I made the decision to “assist” in the landing of the linesider. Less than 20’ from the shore something all out of proportion to what had been happening took place. That “okay” striper seemed to morph into a monster as belied by a huge boil/explosion that looked like an upwelling over a boulder – except there was no such structure there! That so-so bass seemed to develop an afterburner as it took off for the horizon and nearly spooled my friends VS200! To avoid that Bobby cupped the spool as hard as he could when the line/leader link parted. For awhile we steered off into the horizon wondering what on earth just happened. My friend called me over and told me to grab the spool which was piping hot from the friction. Did a shark grab his striper, a tuna, a seal? We’ll never know, but it was just another example why there is no substitute for surf fishing at night!

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Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Thanks to avid angler Sam Stavis from Tomo’s Tackle in Salem reports are not just second hand because he lives to fish! Sam’s been having his way with nice North Shore stripers by still targeting upstream herring runs at night! It is late June after all so you can also count on an occasional cow off area beaches and the Cape Ann rocks. Pogies are available as are mackerel and like last year at about this time it looks like the Tinkers/Misery/Halfway Rock bass bite is beginning to set up! A couple of other successful striper spots to consider are the Swampscott “spindle” and Manchester Harbor. Anglers chunking mackerel off the Dogbar Breakwater are catching schoolies as well as the occasional slot-striper. Beaches such as Good Harbor, Cape Hedge and Coffin’s Beach have featured an early morning swimmer bite for mixed sizes of stripers with the average fish being a schoolie. Mackerel jigged up just past the harbor and trolled or fished under a float off the back-shore or by Thatcher Island is a proven method.

Groundfishing remains good off Southern Jeffrey’s’ Ledge but be prepared for the tranquility to be peppered with occasional visits from Charlie!

Martha from Surfland Bait and Tackle said that pogies are “everywhere” especially by the mouth of the Merrimack River! Successful striper sleuths are picking pods that are being “rushed” and sticking with them. The “flats” has been fun for tube-and-wormers most anytime and the eel casters/trollers during periods of low light. Those Joppa junkies are reporting good numbers of 40” stripers too! A few snappers have invaded Plum Island Sound and the ocean front is fishing well for the worm/clam/chunk mackerel gang.

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Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

South Shore/South Coast standouts are Race Point stripers and Coxes Ledge “Charlie juniors”! The Three Bays have pogies but to succeed anglers have to find pressured pods. The Harbor humps are hot for big bass and something far larger, so be prepared with tuna gear or give it a go on your own peril. Up north the Joppa Flats are jamming for the kayak, surf, small boat set while area beaches are where it’s at for surf baiters. The other option is to find besieged bunker which means one thing – big bass bedlam!